Figures released after the second cryptocurrency exchange group this year hosted by Japan’s FSA on 27 April show a tripling of cryptocurrency enquiries since the same time last year.
The first such meeting which took place last month revealed that there were 3.5 million now trading in cryptocurrency in Japan. These new figures confirm the massive spike in interest in digital currencies over the course of the last year.
Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA), which compiled the figures, said that 2,769 domestic enquiries were filed in 2017 on topics related to cryptocurrencies, whereas the previous year the total was only 847. However, the agency confirmed that many of the enquiries were concerned with exchange platforms’ security and the legitimacy of certain ICOs. Most of the enquiries were from the 40s to 50s age group although there was only a slightly lower percentage in other age groups. Some calls were even from parents with concerns for their teenage children using cryptocurrency.
The release of this data by the FSA, after two meetings of the exchange group, is the agency’s latest move to bring greater transparency to Japan’s burgeoning cryptocurrency environment. According to it, study and disclosure of domestic trading statistics is a step towards a thorough examination of Japanese cryptocurrency trading. It represents a significant move in light of the recent hacking of domestic exchange Coincheck on 26 January, during which 526 million XEM tokens worth USD 400 million was stolen.
Forbes reports that the FSA has recently taken another step towards preventing such hacking events by encouraging cryptocurrency exchanges to give up handling Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), and Dash and other anonymous cryptocurrencies favored by hackers.
Japan’s licensed cryptocurrency exchanges have also recently formed a self-regulatory body that will have enforcement power over its members. The organization would be able to create a whitelist of favourable exchanges while being able to pressure exchanges into delisting any cryptocurrencies the FSA might regard as suspect.
image source: https://pixabay.com/en/question-mark-pile-question-mark-2492009/ – qimino
